BY THE NUMBERS
WHO WILL SPEND WHAT?
$168.74 – amount average male is expected to spend on clothing, jewelry, greeting cards and more.
$85.76 – amount average female is expected to spend.
WHAT WILL THEY SPEND IT ON?
50.5% will buy candy
36% will buy flowers
35.6% will treat someone to a nice evening out. 18.9% of celebrants will buy jewelry
13.3% will buy gift cards
HOW IT WILL BE SPENT?
$4.1 billion on jewelry
$3.5 billion on a special evening out.
$1.8 billion on flowers
$1.5 billion on candy
$1.4 billion on clothing
$1.1 billion on gift cards
SOURCE: National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGinsight
Money can’t buy love, but Americans are still expected to spend a record-setting amount to express it this Valentine’s Day.
The average person celebrating the holiday will shell out $126.03, a 8.5 percent increase from last year’s $116.21 and the highest in the survey’s 10-year history, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGinsight
Total spending is expected to reach $17.6 billion, including $1.8 billion on flowers.
That’s sweet-smelling news to Butler County merchants who look to the holiday for a seasonal boost to their bottom line.
Pre-orders are up at Flowers by Roger in Middletown but the complete effect of the holiday won’t be known until the end of Tuesday’s extended hours, according to owner Roger Conner.
“It’s always a last minute holiday but we have 13 vans scheduled for Tuesday morning, we have about 250 dozen roses,” Conner said. “We’re preparing for a banner year.”
Christmas saw business up by about 10 percent and where Christmas goes in terms of economic direction, Valentine’s Day typically follows, he said.
Flower Corner Design in Hamilton and Oxford saw an 11 percent surge in holiday sales last December and a brisk Valentine’s Day week, according to owner Jana Harmon.
“I think that our sales are going to increase,” she said. Valentine’s Day sales for florists usually starts a week in advance, with business increasing as the big day draws near, Harmon said.
“People start remembering how close it is, then they call,” she said. “We have people who come in ... (Valentine’s Day) all day long until about 6 or 6:30. We’re here to help that person who is very busy and needs to express their love quickly.”
Whether they rush into the holiday or plan in advance, consumers will splurge the most on the object of their affection, with the average person planning to spend $74.12 on their spouse or significant other, up from $68.98 last year, according to the survey.
The rest will go to on their children, parent or other family members ($25.25), friends ($6.92), and even on pets ($4.52).
A projected 18.9 percent of consumers will purchase jewelry, up from 17.3 percent last year and the highest percent in the survey’s history.
Total spending on jewelry is expected to reach $4.1 billion, up from $3.5 billion last year.
Second to jewelry in terms of spending are those who will spend more than $3.5 billion on a special evening out.
As of mid-afternoon Monday, Riverbank Cafe in Hamilton had about 40 percent more spots reserved for Valentine’s Day dinner than it typically receives during a weekend service, according to Tracy Templeton, the restaurant’s manager.
Part of that may have been from the business using social media as early as two weeks ago to simultaneously promote its new entrees and solicit reservations for Valentine’s Day.
While reservations usually come on the weekend, not as many occur Monday through Thursday, Templeton said. “Every once in a while we’ll get a group here and there (on a weekday) but, it being Valentine’s Day, we do have reservations,” she said.
In these unsure financial times, any increase in sales for any type of business is welcome, Harmon said.
“With the economy the way it is, little bursts along the way help us go,” she said.
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